Kathmandu — Amid ongoing internal disputes, the Nepali Congress has finalized and registered its candidates in all 165 constituencies for the upcoming House of Representatives elections, doing so at the final stage of the nomination process.
According to party sources, Congress President Gagan Kumar Thapa has been fielded as the party’s candidate from Sarlahi Constituency No. 4. In the previous election, Thapa had contested and won from Kathmandu-4, but the party this time decided to shift his constituency.
Former party president and ex-prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will not be contesting the election. Deuba, who had continuously won from Dadeldhura since the 2048 BS election, opted out of the race following disputes related to the party’s special general convention and internal power struggle.
From Dadeldhura, the Nepali Congress has nominated Nainsingh Mahar as its candidate.
Similarly, senior leader Vijay Kumar Gachhadar has registered his candidacy from Sunsari-3. Devendra Raj Kandel has been fielded from Nawalparasi-2, while Gajendra Ghale is the party’s candidate from Nawalpur-1.
Party leaders say the final list of candidates across all 165 constituencies reflects a balance between senior leaders, former ministers, and relatively new faces, although the delayed decision-making process exposed deep factional divisions within the party.
The Nepali Congress is contesting the elections independently, without a formal nationwide alliance, and is preparing to face strong competition from the UML, NCP, RSP, RPP and emerging independent candidates.
